Daily Park Report: February 25, 2026

Hollywood Studios Absorbed a Rough Morning—And Still Hit 7/10

Three of Hollywood Studios' biggest attractions were offline before most guests finished their first coffee. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster was down for nearly four hours starting at 8:35 AM, Tower of Terror had two separate closures totaling two hours, and Slinky Dog Dash was unavailable during Early Entry. Despite losing that much ride capacity, the park still climbed to a 7/10 with a 43-minute median wait—7% above its 30-day average. That's not a sign of moderate crowds absorbing closures well. That's a sign of genuine demand on what should have been an unremarkable Wednesday.

Clear skies and a comfortable 72°F high brought out midweek visitors who might otherwise have stayed at their resorts. The After Hours event scheduled for 9:30 PM had no effect on daytime operations—guests got a full day before the premium event began.

Hollywood Studios: Heavy Despite the Chaos

The 11 AM peak hit 55-minute medians, which is aggressive for a Wednesday. With Rock 'n' Roller Coaster offline until 12:25 PM, guests who might have waited in that queue redistributed across the park. Star Tours, typically a 5-minute walk-on, doubled to 10 minutes—still short, but notable given how reliably empty that queue usually sits. The afternoon held steady in the 40-50 minute range even as attractions came back online, suggesting the crowd level was organic rather than compression-driven.

Rise of the Resistance added a 50-minute closure in the mid-afternoon, compounding what was already a challenging day for guests trying to hit headliners. If you were park-hopping into Studios after 2 PM hoping the morning chaos had cleared, you found waits still running heavy.

Magic Kingdom: A Busy but Manageable 6/10

Magic Kingdom ran 10% below its 30-day average despite a 125-minute Space Mountain closure during the late morning. The 1 PM peak hit 25-minute medians—solidly in the Busy category but nowhere near uncomfortable. Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover posted 5-minute waits, half its typical baseline, likely because guests were avoiding that side of the park while Space Mountain sat idle.

The Barnstormer had two separate closures totaling over an hour, creating brief bottlenecks in Fantasyland, but the park's crowd distribution held steady. By late afternoon, waits settled into a consistent 20-minute pattern that held through 7 PM.

EPCOT: Moderate and Unremarkable

EPCOT turned in a textbook midweek performance at 5/10. The 11 AM peak reached 25-minute medians, then crowds dissipated steadily through the afternoon. By 3 PM, most attractions were posting 15-minute waits.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind averaged 55 minutes—31% below its typical 80-minute baseline. On a day when Hollywood Studios headliners kept going down, you'd expect overflow guests to flood EPCOT's biggest draw. Instead, the park stayed comfortable. Spaceship Earth posted just 5 minutes, two-thirds below normal, suggesting guests prioritized World Showcase over Future World attractions.

Animal Kingdom: A Quiet 2/10

Animal Kingdom was the clear winner for anyone flexible enough to pivot. A 16-minute median put it 37% below its 30-day average, and outside the 11 AM-12 PM window when waits briefly hit 30 minutes, the park was essentially a walk-on paradise. Expedition Everest averaged 20 minutes—well under half its typical 35-minute baseline.

Kali River Rapids doubled from its usual 5-minute wait to 10 minutes, which sounds like an outlier until you consider the weather: a 72°F high and zero rain made the rapids far more appealing than usual for late February. This wasn't unusual demand—it was expected behavior for a warm day.

Downtime Impact

Hollywood Studios guests faced a brutal morning. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster's four-hour closure removed one of the park's most popular Lightning Lane attractions during peak touring hours. Guests who had booked afternoon Lightning Lane windows arrived to find the ride operational, but those targeting early morning had no recourse. Tower of Terror's 80-minute midday closure stacked on top of its earlier 40-minute outage meant the Hollywood Boulevard headliners were functionally unavailable for much of the day.

Magic Kingdom's Space Mountain closure during late morning created a temporary Tomorrowland vacuum, but the park's depth absorbed it cleanly. EPCOT's only notable downtime was a 15-minute Seas with Nemo closure—effectively invisible to overall operations.

Today's Outlook: Thursday, February 26

Yesterday's prediction missed Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios by significant margins, while nailing EPCOT and coming close on Animal Kingdom. The model underestimated midweek demand when weather cooperates—a pattern worth noting.

Today looks similar: clear skies, 74°F high, no school calendar impacts, no special events. Expect Hollywood Studios to remain the busiest park, likely in the 6-7/10 range as guests who couldn't complete their attraction lists yesterday return. Magic Kingdom should hold at 5-6/10 with Space Mountain back online. EPCOT will likely mirror yesterday's 5/10 performance. Animal Kingdom remains your best bet for low waits—anticipate another 2-3/10 day with comfortable touring conditions throughout.

If flexibility exists in your plans, Animal Kingdom in the morning followed by a late afternoon EPCOT hop offers the smoothest path through Thursday.

Track Live Wait Times

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